February 22, 2012 –
WHO: Ten years ago, Belgium-born, Melbourne-based Wouter "Wally" De Backer was drumming for Australian power trio the Basics when he finally wrenched himself out of a creative rut by dabbling in collage-based songwriting. "It was a loop from an old instrumental record from the '60s," he says of the sample that led to "Wonder Why You Want Her," from Boardface, his 2003 debut under the moniker Gotye (pronounced Go-tea-yeh). "I popped [the record] on my turntable and it was a 45, but I unintentionally played it at 33 rpm. When it came out of the speaker, it had a narcotic feel to it, and I instantly grabbed a couple of bars and built a whole song around it."
SOUNDS LIKE: Though De Backer, 31, pulls rhythms and textures from his own vinyl collection, his work has roots in the outside world as well.

February 22, 2012 –
The men of Pond claim their Western Australian outfit was born under a Mulberry tree in Daglish, a suburb of their native Perth. According to press materials, something in its shade inspired them to create "tropical psychedelic music" as heard in their impromptu debut Badminton Bandits (allegedly performed later that same, very fateful day) as well as that of Tame Impala, with whom they share two members. Spend eight seconds with "Mystery," an oozy, gooey, psychedelic swim from the forthcoming Beard Wives Denim (out March 6 via Modular), and the links to the latter are as clear as they can be. But give yourself over to it in its entirety, and you'll find these dudes are off in a direction all their own. SPIN is premiering the track here as a download:
DOWNLOAD

February 21, 2012 –
Ceremony make it look easy. On March 6, the Rohnert Park punk outfit will release Zoo, their Matador debut and a ferocious full-length explosion that does a wonderful job of re-imagining whatever definition of the word hardcore you might hold nearest and dearest. Below, you can check out "Adult," a sabretoothed slice of evidence that will also see release as a 7" single alongside non-album cut "Start Over."
DOWNLOAD

February 21, 2012 –
When Lower Dens' Jana Hunter set out to write Nootropics, her Baltimore folk-gaze crew's forthcoming full-length (and Ribbon Music debut), she opted to start with a keyboard instead of a guitar, just as an exercise. "Brains," the minimal but seismic first listen from that full-length still features some guitar strings, but it's a markedly different animal from anything Hunter's offered to date. She's actually front and center for the Tristan Patterson-directed clip for "Brains" below, and what appears to be static is anything but.

February 20, 2012 –
Michael Davis, bass guitarist for raucous Detroit rock pioneers MC5, died of liver failure on Friday, according to a statement from his wife. Davis had been hospitalized at Enloe Medical Center in Chico, California for the past month while battling liver disease. He was 68.
Born on June 5, 1945, Davis joined MC5 (also known as the Motor City Five) in 1965. While the band’s raw approach, anti-establishment stances, and white-knuckle live performances provided a smash-mouth contrast to the hippy dippy sounds of the late '60s as well as paved the way for punk a decade later, it never eked its way into the mainstream as firmly as like-minded fellow Detroit natives the Stooges eventually did.

February 16, 2012 –
Electric Flower Group is the still budding collaboration between journeyman guitarist Imaad Wasif (whose résumé includes touring duty with Yeah Yeah Yeahs) and Secret Machines drummer Josh Garza. Chance brought the two together in a stalled elevator at London’s BBC Studios six years ago, just before they sat down for totally independent Top of the Pops tapings. While the chemical bond forged that day proved strong enough to later inspire some L.A.-based jam sessions, it’s has also yielded recordings like “Eclipsed," the crispy psych-pop beauty available below. It’s set to feature prominently on the duo’s forthcoming sophomore EP, the brilliantly titled EP II, due the end of March via Narnack.
DOWNLOAD

February 15, 2012 –
"A naked guy at the Y came up to me a little while ago and said, 'Hey, way to stick it to those Grammys people,'" Bon Iver frontman Justin Vernon says, his left hand nervously raking his beard. " 'They're not going to let you play your own music? Fuck 'em.'" Vernon is scrunched up on a couch in a dark West Hollywood hotel room, less than 24 hours away from his first trip to the Grammy Awards here in Los Angeles, an event that, along with four major, seemingly unexpected nominations, has brought with it intense, seemingly unexpected levels of scrutiny and opinion. The stranger at Vernon's hometown gym represents just one slice of the spectrum. "There's plenty of other people [back home in Eau Claire, Wisconsin] who said, 'Hey, good luck! Just be nice! Represent us well!'" he says, hand still tense. "I don't know what that means, though. Represent to whom? More people?

February 14, 2012 –
On Sunday night, Bon Iver's Justin Vernon, a guy who admitted he was uncomfortable with the idea of a Grammy Award, stood up before an audience of 39 million and picked up two of them — enough to throttle Lady Gaga (who won none) and start two Internet memes ("Who's Bonny Bear?" and "Sweet hookup"). SPIN rode along with the Best New Artist all weekend, and after the ceremony, we spoke with him exclusively about his pre-show anxiety, his Grammy gripes, and the band's future.
How would you compare the way you feel now with how you felt yesterday morning or a week ago?
I feel like I know now, I know what it's like. Whatever concerns or discomforts I have about the Grammys don't matter.